Prof Rai given addl charge of SSU V-C

Prof Rai given addl charge of SSU V-C

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Lucknow:21.05.2021

Lucknow University vice-chancellor Prof Alok Kumar Rai was given additional charge of vice-chancellor, Sampurnanand Sanskrit University (SSU), Varanasi, by Governor Anandiben Patel, who is chancellor of all state universities, on Thursday.

Prof Rai will hold charge of SSU vice-chancellor till the appointment of a new vicechancellor or until next direction of the chancellor, whichever is earlier.

The tenure of present SSU vice-chancellor Prof Rajaram Shukla is till May 23.

According to a statement issued by Raj Bhawan, the governor has also extended the tenure of VC of Siddhartha University, Kapilvastu, Siddharthanagar, Prof Surendra Dubey till the appointment of a new incumbent.

Intern doctors to go on strike over stipend

Intern doctors to go on strike over stipend

Jaipur:21.05.2021

Over 1,300 intern doctors on Thursday decided to go on strike from Friday as they have been demanding from the government to increase stipend from Rs7,000 to Rs14,000.

An office-bearer of All Rajasthan Intern Doctors’ Association said that they have been demanding from the state government to increase their stipend, but it has not resolved the issue. “In October last year a committee formed under the principal and controller SMS Medical College, which had accepted their demands of increasing their monthly stipend. But the decision has not been implemented till date,”said the office-bearer.

A celebration erupted at the Sawai Man Singh Medical College on Monday, where the intern doctors have been protesting for the past five days, sitting on hunger strike. They called off the hunger strike, after a committee formed by the principal and controller SMS Medical College, accepted their demands of increasing their monthly stipend.

In October last year, too, the intern doctors had protested and they had sat on hunger strike on October15. Following which, a committee was formed by the SMS medical college and intern doctors called off the strike at that time. TNN

AMU VC blames vax hesitancy

AMU VC blames vax hesitancy

Anuja.Jaiswal@timesgroup.com

Agra:12.05.2021

Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) vicechancellor Prof Tariq Mansoor on Thursday admitted that vaccine hesitancy had played a significant role in surge in Covid-19 cases among university employees and their families and the consequent deaths.

Till now, several employees, including 18 serving faculty members, a large number of retired professors and non-teaching staff, have died due to the virus.

In a letter to the members of AMU community, the VC appealed to all the deans, principals, chairpersons, provosts, heads of departments and teaching and non-teaching staff and alumni to motivate and make efforts that all of them and their family members as well as students get vaccinated against the virus.

Virus can spread through aerosols up to 10m: Govt

Virus can spread through aerosols up to 10m: Govt

Has Greater Risk Of Transmission Of Covid In Closed Spaces

Vishwa.Mohan@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:21.05.2021

Recent studies pointing to SARS-CoV2, the virus that causes Covid-19, being transmitted through droplets and aerosols that can travel up to 10 metres in air have prompted the government to refine its advisory which calls for proper ventilation, among other things, to check the transmission of the disease.

Pitching for increased ventilation, the advisory, issued by the office of principal scientific advisor (PSA) to the government on Thursday, said droplets and aerosols become quickly concentrated and greatly increase the risk of transmission in "closed unventilated indoor" spaces.

“In closed indoor spaces, droplets, and aerosols become quickly concentrated, greatly increasing the risk of transmission to people in the area. Just as smells can be diluted by ventilation, high concentrations of the virus can be reduced by ensuring that outdoor air flows in,” tweeted PSA K VijayRaghavan, on the guidelines which enlisted steps on how to stop the transmission of Covid-19 virus.

Raghavan, a developmental biologist, said, “One infected asymptomatic person can release enough aerosols to infect many. Symptoms can take up to two weeks to appear in an infected person, during which he may continue to shed the virus to infect others. Some people may never show symptoms and yet be spreaders.”

Besides underlining the importance of masks, physical distancing and sanitation, the advisory also lays equal emphasis on ventilation, noting how infection transmission risk is much lower in outdoor areas, as virus particles get quickly dispersed. It said, “Better the ventilation, lower the potential for transmission.”

Fresh evidence and advice on airborne Covid-19 spread had come a few months ago when scientists at two laboratories of the Centre of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) -- Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) in Hyderabad and Institute of Microbial Technology in Chandigarh -- had studied the extent of transmission through air.

In closed indoor spaces aerosols become quickly concentrated, greatly increasing the risk of transmission to people in the area

Managements seek teachers’ discretion in awarding marks

CBSE XTH EXAMS

Managements seek teachers’ discretion in awarding marks

Kochi:21.05.2021

The Kerala CBSE Schools Management Association has written to the central education minister, Ramesh Pokhriyal, requesting to rectify the alleged 'disparities and deficiencies' in the assessment formula for tabulating the marks of Class X students in the absence of annual board exams.

In the letter, they have said that a majority of the schools and the students are facing problems based on the guidelines issued by the CBSE.

Earlier in April, the CBSE said that the students will be assessed by respective schools out of a maximum of 100 marks for each subject. The 20 marks for internal assessment for each subject will be as per the existing policy but the CBSE stated that the remaining 80 marks in each subject should be divided across the Periodic Test/ Unit Test (10 Marks), Half Yearly/ Mid-term Examinations (30 Marks), and Pre-Board or Model Examinations (40 Marks).

However, the overall average marks assessed in 2020-2021 for all the five main subjects should not exceed the overall average marks obtained by the school in the reference year — best of three previous years — that has to be taken as the benchmark.

“If this guideline is to be implemented, the brilliant and hardworking students will have to suffer the consequence of lesser marks and grades on the basis of average marks in the previous year for no fault of theirs. Hence the CBSE may be directed to amend the policy by providing discretion for the teachers who have been continuously assessing the students from the beginning of the academic year,” said the letter signed by president TPM Ibrahim Khan and general secretary P S Ramachandran Pillai. TNN

‘No merit in arguments over Shailaja’s exclusion’

‘No merit in arguments over Shailaja’s exclusion’

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Thiruvananthapuram:21.05.2021

CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury here on Thursday said there was no merit in the arguments that K K Shailaja was excluded from the second Pinarayi government for any ulterior reasons.

Speaking to reporters ahead of the new government’s swearing-in ceremony, Yechury said the decision to induct all new faces into the new cabinet was the outcome of a principled stand taken by the CPM in Kerala.

Selection of candidates for ministerial berth is the prerogative of the respective state committees.

“They are the matters within the domain of the respective state committees. And that is the party structure. So, we have taken a principled decision and that decision I think would be good for the long-term interest, not only for the CPM and LDF, but also for the state of Kerala,” he said.

Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan had said that the CPM collectively took all decisions regarding the government formation. He also turned down the reports that the central leadership was upset over the decision to drop Shailaja from the cabinet, despite her sterling performance as health minister in the first Pinarayi government.

CPM leaders claimed that the party decision to deny seats to all those had contested two elections consecutively and to drop all former ministers from the first Pinarayi government were taken to rejuvenate the party and nip the possibilities of certain leaders emerging as power centres.

A similar drastic change in the CPM’s organizational positions is also on the anvil is what they claims.

Higher education: A time for reforms and transformation

BY INVITATION

Higher education: A time for reforms and transformation

Kuncheria P Isaac  21.05.2021 

The all-India higher education survey paints a grim picture of the higher education sector in Kerala. Be it university, college, or the gross enrolment ratio (GER) ranking, we have nothing to cheer about. Kerala ranks 20th in the universities’ category, 11th in colleges’ category and 8th in GER. The new government would need the courage and resolve to make a course correction and salvage the ailing sector.

First, blind opposition to National Education Policy (NEP) should stop and government should use it as a springboard to scale new heights. Kerala should be open to structural changes to make higher education system more research intensive and academic oriented. Elimination of affiliation system, granting more autonomy through a process of accreditation, ranking and rating is the next step.

If we assume that the population of Kerala will be around 40 million by 2040 and if 10% of this population will be college students (18-23) at a GER of 50%, the college-going population in Kerala will be 2 million. Following NEP to its logical conclusion, these students should be enrolled in 60 universities, with an average enrolment of 30,000 students. Unless we are open to structural changes, such a target is impossible to achieve.

Can we reform the existing, affiliated universities to provide a quality education is the fundamental question before the government? Based on my experiences at KTU and the present governance structure, it may be an impossible task. It is better for the government to think of transforming the system, keep it aligned with NEP by separating the governance of affiliated system and university departments. The governance of university departments should be vested with the teachers and not the persons elected or nominated to the syndicate from affiliated colleges.

Digitalisation: Classroom in every home

In this era of MOOC, ‘distance education’ is obsolete. Priority should be on digitalisation to achieve a GER of 50% with quality education. All students cannot be on campus for education and hence the first task is to set up a classroom in every house with personal computers or laptops and internet facility. Government should provide this facility to those in BPL category.

Smart classrooms, inclusion of tablets, e-books enabled with educational software and applications, digital library, personalized learning, adaptive learning, project based learning are the features of digital transformation required for a student-centric learning.

Research

This culture is almost absent in our higher education institutions. Though one can sense some sort of awakening, the credit goes to NIRF and accreditation process. It is where government should step in and act as an enabler.

(The author is Director General XIME and former VC of KTU)